Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 search to resume 11 years after jet went missing

Malaysian transport ministry says robotics company Ocean Infinity will restart search operation on 30 December

A Malaysian writes well wishes on a wall of hope during a remembrance event for the ill fated Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in Kuala Lumpur. File picture: Joshua Paul/AP

The search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will resume this month, the Malaysian transport ministry has said, more than a decade after the plane disappeared in one of aviation’s greatest mysteries.

In a statement on Wednesday, the transport ministry confirmed that the marine robotics company Ocean Infinity, based in the UK and US, would resume a search of the seabed from December 30, over a period of 55 days, with operations conducted intermittently.

It said the new search would target areas where it is believed there is the highest likelihood of finding the missing aircraft, though details of the exact locations have not been given.

Flight MH370 veered off course and vanished from air traffic radar on March 8 2014, during a routine flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. It was carrying 12 Malaysian crew and 227 passengers, most of whom were Chinese citizens. Thirty-eight Malaysian passengers were on board, along with seven Australian citizens and residents, plus citizens from Indonesia, India, France, the US, Iran, Ukraine, Canada, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Russia and Taiwan.

Danica Weeks, whose husband Paul, an Australian citizen, was onboard, welcomed news of the renewed search efforts, saying she was “incredibly grateful and relieved that the Malaysian government has committed to continuing the search”.

“We’ve never stopped wishing for answers, and knowing the search will go on brings a sense of comfort. I truly hope this next phase gives us the clarity and peace we’ve been so desperately longing for, for us and our loved ones, since March 8th 2014,” said Weeks.

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement that it supported “all practical efforts to locate Malaysia Airlines flight MH370”, adding that it hoped the renewed search would bring “closure to families who have endured so much since the tragedy”.

Flight officer Rayan Gharazeddine scans the water in the southern Indian Ocean during a search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in 2014. File picture: Rob Griffith/AP

Beijing’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Lin Jian, said: “We have noted relevant reports and appreciate the efforts made by the Malaysian side.” Jiang Hui, whose mother was on the plane, said his family “welcomes the continued search by the Malaysian government and Ocean Infinity”.

Posting on the Chinese social media platform WeChat, Jiang, who is from Beijing, said his family hoped the upcoming search, planned for 55 days, in future would have “no fixed period”.

In the years since the disappearance, vast swathes of the Indian Ocean have been scoured in an attempt to locate the plane’s wreckage through multinational and private efforts, without success.

Several pieces of debris have washed up, including a wing part found on the French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, which was confirmed by Malaysia to have come from MH370 in 2015 – the first trace of the missing plane. Several pieces of debris were later found along the east coast of Africa. However, no large pieces of wreckage or bodies have been found.

Last year, Malaysia said it was willing to reopen an investigation into the disappearance if there was compelling new evidence. It agreed to a “no-find, no-fee” contract with Ocean Infinity to resume searching across a new 15,000 sq km (5,800 sq mile) site in the ocean. Under the agreement, Ocean Infinity will be paid $70m only if wreckage is discovered.

However, the most recent search activity in the southern Indian Ocean was suspended in April this year due to poor weather conditions.

Flight MH370, a B777-200 aircraft, had departed Kuala Lumpur at 12.41am local time on 8 March 2014, bound for Beijing. The plane was last seen on military radar at 2.14am, heading west over the strait of Malacca. Half an hour later, the airline announced it had lost contact with the plane, which was due to land at its destination about 6.30am.

The families of those onboard have long campaigned for continued search operations, saying answers are needed to prevent another tragedy. Some travelled to Madagascar in 2016 to comb the beaches for debris. Relatives have also demanded accountability in the courts, and sought compensation from businesses including Malaysia Airlines, Boeing, the aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce and the Allianz insurance group.

In January 2017, Malaysian, Australian and Chinese authorities announced the end of an underwater hunt for the wreckage that had been led by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which for two and a half years searched 120,000 sq km in the southern Indian Ocean.

Later that year, Australian investigators delivered their final report on the disappearance, saying the inability to bring closure for victims’ families was a “great tragedy” and “almost inconceivable” in the modern age.

In 2018, an official investigation by Malaysia concluded the plane was manually turned around in mid-air, rather than being under the control of autopilot, and that “unlawful interference by a third party” could not be ruled out. However, it dismissed theories that had suggested the pilot and first officer brought the plane down in a suicide mission, and ruled out mechanical failure as a cause.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Malaysian transport ministry said: “The latest development underscores the government of Malaysia’s commitment in providing closure to the families affected by this tragedy.” Reuters and AFP contributed to this report.

— The Guardian